Lakers tie up series; Lillard injures finger
The Lakers learned their lesson.
Anthony Davis had 31 points and 11 rebounds and the top-seeded Lakers bounced back from an opening loss to rout the Trail Blazers 111-88 on Thursday night in Game 2 of the first-round Western Conference playoff series in Orlando, Fla.
“Obviously, this is an important game for us,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “We have tremendous respect for them. We’re going to have to battle the way we did tonight in every game this series.”
Davis scored 28 points in Game 1, but made just 8 of 24 shots. In Game 2, he made 13 of 21.
“I just wanted to come out tonight with the mindset tonight to be aggressive and to help my team on both ends of the floor and do whatever I had to do to help the team win,” he said.
LeBron James had 10 points, six rebounds, seven assists and six turnovers for the Lakers.
The Trail Blazers stunned the Lakers 100-93 in Game 1, but things went horribly wrong in Game 2. A poor performance got worse when All-Star guard Damian Lillard dislocated the index finger on his left hand in the third quarter. The team said X-rays were negative.
“It’s just sore,” Lillard said. “A little bit tender to the touch. Dislocated it. A little bit sore, a little bit swollen. Uncomfortable.”
Portland coach Terry Stotts said it’s too early to determine Lillard’s status for Game 3.
Bucks 111, Magic 96
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points and 20 rebounds and the Bucks rode a fast start to beat the Magic and tie the Eastern Conference first-round series at a game apiece.
Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic followed up his 35-point effort in the opener by scoring 32 points.
Heat 109, Pacers 100
Duncan Robinson hit his first six shots, all from 3-point range, and finished with 24 points to help Miami beat Indiana and take a 2-0 lead in their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
Goran Dragic scored 20 points for Miami while Jimmy Butler had 18 points and six assists.
Rockets 111, Thunder 98
James Harden had 21 points and nine assists and Houston made 19 of an NBA-record 56 3-point attempts to beat Oklahoma City for a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference series.
Russell Westbrook was out for the Rockets again with a right quad strain.